Chapter Fifteen

Casey met Gabriella for a cup of coffee a few days later. It was during a short break from work, so they would have to make it rather quick, but she knew they needed to talk. They hadn't really spoken much since that evening. Casey had been busy with Derek and Dylan, and she hoped that Gabriella had been busy trying to make things work with Sharpay. She hadn't heard of a break-up – she hadn't heard anything, in fact – so she hoped and believed that the two women were still together.

They were leaving soon, though. It had been decided for a very long time that it would be the following Sunday, since them heading home was long overdue, and they both had work the week after. Casey had really come to love having them around and she was going to miss them both so much. She wanted them to be on good terms when they left because she hoped that sometime they might see each other again. She would definitely miss her phone conversations with Gabriella if they didn't have them.

She had been best friends with Gabriella for so many years, and she wasn't about to lose that friendship because of something messed-up that happened. They'd have to work past this, there was just no other option.

Gabriella already had a table and was sipping a cup of coffee when Casey entered their chosen café. She quickly ordered a latte, before she took a seat in front of the Latina, who looked rather uncomfortable.

"Hey." Casey said, and placed her purse on the empty chair next to her. She locked eyes with Gabriella, who offered her an insecure smile.

"Hi." She softly said, and placed the big mug on the table again. She then added, "I'm really glad we could meet up, Case. We need to talk about this."

Casey nodded; it felt like Gabriella had read her mind. Not once during the phone call where they arranged this, had one of them mentioned what happened that night. Casey had felt like it was all implied, and apparently Gabriella had caught that, because she was fully a where of why they were there together. Casey loved that they knew each other so well, "I agree." She said, with a slight chuckle, just as a waitress placed a cup in front of her, and Casey thanked her with a smile.

"What happened with you and Derek?" Gabriella asked her, and cringed slightly (Casey suspected that that was by the mentioning of Derek), "I mean… What did he say? Did you guys talk? Are you… are you okay?"

Casey placed a hand on the table and got ready to explain everything, "Derek and I made up, yeah… in fact, we're sort of dating now."

A huge smile came onto Gabriella's face. Casey was happy that even though she probably hated Derek right now, she could still be happy for her, "That's so great! Congratulations, Case. I'm happy for you." the Latina quickly rambled off.

Casey couldn't help but chuckle, the other woman was just amazingly cute, "Thank you." she said, before quickly continuing, "He told me, by the way, that it was his fault the entire thing. He's really sorry that he caused problems between you and Sharpay." Casey shut her mouth and waited for Gabriella to say something, but when the Latina didn't say a word, she worriedly continued, "I mean… you're still… together, right?"

A small smile found its way onto Gabriella's lips and Casey was very relieved to see her nod her head sharply, "We are…" she said, "We are. After much talking through the door and an unfortunate broken Jimmy Choo, we finally figured things out."

Casey felt herself arch an eyebrow, "Do I dare ask about the broken Jimmy Choo?" was the first that that came to her mind, knowing it couldn't have been pretty. Sharpay cared about her shoes a lot, and if one of them broke… Hell would probably have broken loose, hadn't she needed to make up with Gabriella. Which luckily enough was more important. If it hadn't been, Casey would sure have kicked her.

Gabriella shook her head, "I wouldn't." she simply said, before she sipped her cup again, "We've discussed it, and when you say that Derek takes the blame, it pretty much fits Sharpay's story, which means that I don't have to feel so sorry for myself." She giggled lightly, "That really brightens my day."

Casey laughed too as she took a sip of her latte again, "That's good, then." She mumbled, as she smiled at her best friend, "I really wanted us to talk this through before you guys left. It's still on Sunday, right?" she quickly asked, just to make sure that she didn't have the dates mixed up. She had to be there in the airport to say goodbye to them; there was no way she wouldn't be there.

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah, it is." She said. She then stared at Casey for a few seconds, until two small lines made their way to her forehead and she continued, "Uh! Actually, I thought of something."

"Yeah?" Casey questioned. It sounded exciting and now she wanted to know.

Gabriella digged into her purse and reached for her cell phone, "I thought that it might be kind of cool if you, Dylan and Derek came to visit me and Sharpay sometime in Albuquerque. I mean… it would be nice to have you there, and also when we're getting married. You have to be there at the wedding." She explained, cell phone still in hand.

Casey nodded. She could understand that. She wanted to be there for the wedding too. She had known and loved Gabriella for so many years, and during these past weeks she had come to know and love Sharpay too. It wouldn't feel right if she wasn't there, "Sure… We'd love to." She then felt herself eye the cell phone, very confused about as to what that had to do with it, "But what's up with your phone?"

"I needed a picture of you for my caller ID." Gabriella quickly said, and snatched a picture before Casey could even object. She had used the surprise attack, which was probably a smart idea, since Casey hated pictures and Gabriella knew that, "But if you do have to come for our wedding," Gabriella continued, like she hadn't just totally violated Casey with that camera phone, "Sharpay and Derek need to be more comfortable with each other."

Casey paused as she let that sink in. Gabriella was right. She was absolutely right. Derek and Sharpay couldn't be awkward with each other if they had to continue this friendship. It was very clear that after what happened, they'd need to talk. And that had to be face to face before Sharpay and Gabriella flew back home. They had to settle this and be sure that they were friends and that everything was good between them. How would the two of them – Gabriella and Casey herself – swing that one?

Casey nodded slowly, "Mhm," she said and then locked eyes with the other woman, "you're right, Gabby, you're absolutely right…" she then paused again, "How do we do that?"

Gabriella reached into her purse again and folded a piece of paper up, so Casey could read the entire thing. It was a typical flyer which normally hung all around town. She didn't usually pay much attention to them, but as she was faced with one, she couldn't help but read it, of course.

It was Open Mic Night at some place.

She gave Gabriella a quizzical look, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Sharpay showed me this a long time ago." Gabriella explained and placed the flyer on the table, "She knows these guys from some drama camp, and she made sure we would still be here so she could enter." She paused and gave Casey a saying look, "She's working on a new song, she's very into it, so I know for a fact… that we'll be there."

Casey couldn't help but admire Gabriella for her sneakiness right that second as she eyed the Latina from across the table. She had a saying look across her face and Casey reached out for the flyer to take with her home and show Derek. This way Derek wouldn't know why they were going and that Gabriella and Sharpay would be there. It'd be much easier to get him to tag along, then.

Gabriella then added, "Will you and Derek make an appearance too?" she continued, as if it wasn't implied and that they weren't ganging up on their partners or anything.

Casey licked her lips quickly, "Oh, I think we will."

--

I know it wasn't very nice for us to do such thing, but sometimes people need a push in the right direction. I don't want to lose my friendship with neither Gabriella nor Sharpay, and it would probably be a good idea if Derek felt the same way. He has to face Sharpay someday, so I figured it'd be better to do it before she's so far away, and only the phone is between them. Plus… it wouldn't hurt to see Sharpay perform, would it? I have a feeling that… it'll be quite the show. –pause- At least that's what Gabriella told me, but then again, you never know.

--

Derek couldn't by any means figure out what they were doing at a bar. And it wasn't just any bar either. It was one of those (apparently) hip places in town and tonight the two owners (which were two guys, who looked like they were more than just friends, by the way) had decided to host something they called Open Mic Night.

Of course Casey had wanted to go real bad after having seen and picked up a flyer in town, and Derek knew that he should at least do as she wanted for about a month before he started to be trouble. He still felt like he needed to make it up to her that he had screwed up so badly, so therefore he had tagged along with no objections. Dylan was with Emily and Sam after he had wanted to make up for everything, and therefore offered to watch the little troublemaker just so he could feel better about himself.

Casey had already told him that it was okay, and that he shouldn't worry. Derek had told him not to sweat it since he had gotten Casey after all, but apparently Sam felt really bad, and therefore they could have a night out like this.

Derek really wanted to forget about everything, but he also knew that Gabriella and Sharpay were leaving the following day. He felt bad about how things ended and he knew Casey was rather sad to see the two women fly home too, but he couldn't figure out how to make things right. He just wanted to see Casey happy, but that wasn't always the easiest thing, since she was rather neurotic and he wasn't just… not.

So there they were, sitting two people at a four people table, and Derek had a feeling that something was going to happen tonight. Casey had acted rather jumpy all evening as she got herself ready, and he knew for a fact that she wasn't very good at keeping secrets. She was up to something, and he was pretty sure that that something were two women – a gorgeous Latina and a spicy blonde.

He didn't know if he should feel mad at her for doing this behind his back; for agreeing to meet the two of them when she knew how much he had screwed up. Or should he just be happy that she made an effort to correct everything between him and Sharpay so it wouldn't be so bad when they left? He decided he wouldn't cause any trouble, though. He would just do his best to make everything perfect.

"Oh my God!" Casey suddenly said and Derek turned his head to look at her, all thoughts flying out of the window as she spoke, "Look who's here. It's Gabriella and Sharpay."

She sounded so fake, Derek almost couldn't hide his smug smile, but he did anyway, and pretended to be very surprised, "Oh yeah…" he said, now giving her a nervous look, "Do you think we should leave? They probably don't want to see me." he tried, knowing that Casey expected something from him; he wasn't quite sure how she wanted him to react, so this was what she got.

Just then Gabriella raised her eyes and looked straight at them.

"Too late." Casey mumbled and stood up from her chair, "I have to ask them to join us. I mean… they're our friends, right?" she said, and gave him a funny look.

Derek gave a huge sigh just for pretend, "Sure." He said, and smiled warmly at her (for some reason he had been doing that a lot lately), "Go right ahead."

Casey kissed him on the cheek, before she went off to greet Gabriella with a hug. Derek watched them from afar, seeing as they exchanged words and such. He saw Sharpay's brown eyes as she stood behind Gabriella with her mouth closed tightly. He knew she didn't want to see him, and it made him feel bad. He just sipped his beer though, and tried not to think too much about it. Hopefully she would be open for this as well.

Derek placed the bottle on the table as the three women joined him. Casey sat down first; she was all smiles and happy faces, and Gabriella gave him probably the biggest smile she could muster and took a seat across from him. Sharpay, placing her guitar against the table, took the only spare seat and gave him an insecure look.

"How funny to run into you two here." Derek mumbled, and winked at the two ladies.

"Yeah, that's weird." Gabriella said and nervously shifted in her seat. She probably wasn't too comfortable with this either, and he suspected that at some point she might have wished to hit him for what he did to her fiancée.

Casey then placed a hand on the table, "So girls? Do you not want anything to drink?"

Gabriella gave Sharpay a questionable look.

"I'm drinking no alcohol before I've been on stage." The blonde said and motioned towards her guitar. Derek glanced at it briefly too, and knew that Sharpay must have entered this Open Mic Night-thingy, "But I'd like a coke, please."

"I'm gonna go up there." Gabriella said, and before Derek really knew how it happened, Casey had gone with her to get more drinks too, and he was alone at the table with Sharpay, who, as soon as they weren't in earshot anymore, hit him across the chest.

"Stupid!" she said, her brown eyes shot fireworks and he actually felt a bit scared.

He quickly grabbed her wrist when she raised her hand to hit him once more, "Hey!" he said, voice firm. And then he locked eyes with her, which thankfully caused her to relax a bit, "I know I screwed up, but as I can see, you two are still together. I've got Casey as well, so let's just be civil for the cause of this friendship. Maybe someday you and I will learn to care for each other again as we had come to."

Sharpay wrestled her wrist out of his grip and reached for his beer instead. She took a long sip of it and then said to him, "You're right, Derek." She placed the now empty bottle of the table again and shook her head, "You're right. I know Gabriella loves Casey like a sister, and it'll ruin everything for them if we can't get along from now on." She gave him a look, "So let's forget about everything and say we do."

Derek smiled warmly at her. She was so determined, and he liked that about her. Of course she would never be Casey, but hadn't he been in love with her, and hadn't Sharpay been gay, then they would have made a perfect couple with so many disagreements – because that was one thing they had. They could never agree on anything. They were probably too much alike. "Great. Thank you for understanding, Sharpay, and I'm really happy that you and Gabriella worked things out. I would have felt really bad, had you split up."

"Yeah, thank God for my great ability to win over just about anyone." Sharpay mumbled, and then slowly, she leaned in closer to him, "By the way…" she whispered and eyed Gabriella and Casey, who were now getting closer, both of them with a drink in each hand, "You think they sat us up to this?"

Derek smirked, "Totally."

Sharpay sat back up straight just as the other two came back. Casey placed another beer in front of him, a martini in front of herself, and Gabriella placed a coke in front of Sharpay and sat down on her seat with her Sex on the Beach.

"Sooo…" Casey begun, with just a little too much excitement in her voice, "What happened while we were gone? Something interesting?"

Derek gave her a saying look and hoped that she got the message; she had to cool it down just a bit before it got too much, "Did something happen?" he then said and turned to Sharpay with questions in his eyes, "I don't remember anything. Do you?"

Sharpay shook her head and smiled warmly at them all, "No, nothing happened. What should happen? Did you think of anything in particular?"

Gabriella looked from Casey and then to the two of them again, with an arched eyebrow, "You know what…" she begun and reached a hand out to rest it on Sharpay's thigh, "We're fine with it, as long as you guys are fine." She settled for, and Derek wanted to plant a big kiss on her lips right then and there, because she didn't continue this.

"So when does this thing start?" Derek then asked, just to get the conversation onto something else. The whole thing about last weekend and the weekend before that was over. They had moved past what happened and now they were all four looking towards a good and bright future. It was time to live for that, and not for the past. He liked it when he thought of it like that – he seemed so optimistic, and that was how he wanted things. He really wanted to make this thing with Casey work.

"Really soon." Sharpay told him, "And I'm on first, so you won't even have to sit through a lot of boring acts – you can leave after, if you want. I guess you've served your purpose here."

Derek couldn't help but laugh, "I guess so." He said; this was really why he liked Sharpay so much in the first place. They always knew what to say to each other, even if they often disagreed. And she made him laugh too, which wasn't such a bad thing.

He looked down when he felt Casey's hand on his leg, "I can't wait to hear your song, Sharpay. Gabriella tells me you've written something new?"

"I wrote one song earlier that I wanted to sing, but during this week I wrote a new one instead." Sharpay explained, and glanced quickly at Gabriella with love and lust in her eyes.

Gabriella glanced right back for a second, before she said, "And I wasn't even allowed to hear it yet!" she complained, before she continued in a mysterious voice, "It was all a big, big secret until tonight."

The other three laughed, just as the lights were dimmed slightly and two guys around their own age came onto the stage. One of them wore glasses and the other one wore an all pink suit.

"Hey ya'll!" the suit said into a microphone, "Welcome to Open Mic Night!"

They all clapped at him, and the other one took over, "There's not much to say about this. We have had a lot of sign-ups, we even had to turn some down. But we found some pretty good acts in the end."

"We thought we'd start with something very good!" the suit took over again, and Derek saw out of the corner of his eye, that Sharpay got a smile on her face, "It's a personal friend of ours. Her name is Sharpay Evans, she's from Albuquerque, New Mexico, but our luck is that she's here tonight and wants to sing for us!"

"Give her a big hand everyone!" the one with the glasses finished, and Sharpay stood up from her chair and made her way through the crowded place and onto the stage. She kissed both the guys on their cheeks, before she rearranged the microphone, took a seat on a chair, and rested her guitar on her knees.

She then leaned slightly forward and said, "Hi everyone. Those cool guys pretty much told you all about me, I just…" she gave them a warm smile, "I just wanted you to tell you a bit about my song. I wrote it very recently because of something that happened in my life. I hurt some people I love very much, especially the woman I love, which I hate myself for."

Both Derek and Casey glanced at Gabriella, who just kept on staring at the small makeshift stage where Sharpay was on, now talking about everything, and how she wrote a song about it. Derek wasn't quite sure if Gabriella liked it or not, but at least she hadn't run off yet, and he suspected that Sharpay knew her limits and what she could and could not do.

"I screwed up pretty badly." The blonde continued, and the entire room listened intensely to her, "A friend of mine was hurt as well by the one she loves, and it got me thinking… don't we all mess up at times? Don't we all hurt the ones we love the most? Even if the ones we love the most are the ones we shouldn't hurt?" she paused and Derek knew that she was onto something there. He had hurt Casey so much, and yet she was the person he really didn't want to hurt because he really cared for her, "Hence this song…" Sharpay finished, "It's called As Long As I Have You, and I hope you enjoy!"

She strummed her guitar for a few seconds, and Derek felt himself get excited for what he was about to hear. He had never heard her sing, let alone one of her own creations and he really wanted to. Casey looked really surprised to how Sharpay was acting up there, and he kind of was too – he had expected it to be all glitter and no real emotions. But of course… even those show-people can surprise you and he had a feeling that Sharpay definitely would with what they were about to hear. Gabriella seemed captivated by this, and he didn't blame her. It was the woman she loved up there.

"I guess you could say that
I'm a jerk
I guess I screw up,
That's what I'm good at
But you always forgive me
Please do believe me
When I say I'm sorry for all I've done
I hope you know you're my number one"

It was very slow and her voice was really beautiful. Derek felt himself get into the song. He could relate to it, of course. He screwed up as well and he had a feeling that many of the people inside this bar knew what it was Sharpay sung about; they had all been there. Or at least they had been with someone who had been there. Women like Gabriella probably didn't screw up that way, but she had Sharpay and she had experienced getting hurt by it.

It made perfect sense to Derek, and seeing Sharpay up there, as she slowly sang and played, he was captivated. It didn't matter that the lyrics weren't that good; it came from the heart, that was the important thing.

"And even after everything we've been through
I still find myself loving you
We've made mistakes
Don't everyone?
Relationships can't be all fun
But as long as I have you, baby
My future looks all bright for me"

Derek felt Casey's hand squeeze his thigh lightly and he let one of his own hands wander down there to intertwine their fingers. He couldn't explain what it was, but he really felt the same way as Sharpay sung she did; he knew that if he had Casey, that if they could make it through every stupid mistake one of them (well, mostly him) would do, then they would be okay. He would have a future that looked somewhat nice.

Relationships took hard work, and he had to deal with that. And he wanted to deal with that. But only with Casey. Because she was worth all the trouble.

"I guess I speak for all
When I say
That in relationships
You stand and fall
But when love is enough
You shouldn't mess up
Because when love is real, you will know
Even if we're all bad at saying so

And even after everything we've been through
I still find myself loving you
We've made mistakes
Don't everyone?
Relationships can't be all fun
But as long as I have you, baby
My future looks all bright for me"

Derek leaned over and gave Casey a deep kiss on the lips. She smiled warmly at him when he pulled back, before she reached her free hand across the table and touched Gabriella's arm lightly.

"She's good." She softly said.

Gabriella nodded and glanced quickly up at Sharpay, who were now strumming her guitar again, probably getting to the end of her song, "I know… she's… she's perfect." The Latina whispered. Her eyes were full of love and devotion and Derek knew that those two, like him and Casey, would make it through every mistake and every mess-up, simply because they really loved each other.

"Moving on
Goin' strong
And now I know it won't be long
'Till I finish my song

And can be in your arms
That is where I belong…"

Sharpay finished off by holding the last tone out for as long as possible, which really proved that she had a good voice. Then everyone started clapping and she stood up. Derek, Casey and Gabriella felt themselves clap more enthusiastically than anyone else in there, but it was explainable since they did know the singer. Sharpay said a bunch of thank-yous before she left the stage and joined them at their table again.

Gabriella greeted her with a long kiss, "You were awesome." She said.

Derek and Casey nodded in agreement, just as the suit came on stage again, "Isn't she splendid, everyone!?" he exclaimed and let everyone whistle in agreement, before he introduced the next act, and almost everyone turned their attention towards that.

Forty five minutes later, Derek found himself in between Casey and Sharpay, who were talking about getting together already at Christmas again. Gabriella had left for the bathroom five minutes ago, and since there was a long line, it'd probably be another fifteen before she was back.

Tuning out of his own world, Derek heard Casey ask Sharpay a question,

"By the way," his girlfriend said, "I meant to ask you something…"

"Sure, what is it?" Sharpay curiously asked, as she now sipped a drink – Derek believed it was Blue Hawaii (not that he knew a lot about drinks, but it was pretty easy to recognize that one).

Casey smiled at her, "Remember the first night Gabriella was here?" she asked, but didn't wait for an answer; she just continued right on with her story, "You told us something about Gabriella's birthday when you two got together. I always meant to ask you what it was about since Gabriella didn't know." she paused with a sly smile, "I thought you guys told each other everything."

Sharpay winked at her, "Everything but that." she said, emphasizing the 'that' for good measure, "No, no… it's, it's just that I don't think Gabriella should know. I'm very protective of her, and she'll feel sad and hurt."

Now Derek was interested. What could this be about? He really wanted to know, "Tell us now, she isn't here." He quickly begged her and leaned in closer along with Casey so Sharpay didn't have to speak so loud.

"The secret source I had to know about the party was Troy… Y'know, Gabriella's ex-boyfriend." Her voice was low and she quickly glanced behind her to see if Gabriella was coming, but the coast was clear, "He didn't want me to come, so he didn't invite me. He was afraid that Gabriella and I were getting closer, and he didn't want that."

Casey gasped right next to him, "What made him change his mind?" she wondered.

Sharpay shrugged, "He cares about Bri, I guess. She was so sad and he could see that." she sipped her drink and licked her lips for each drop of liquor, "So he came to me. I've always hated that bastard since he went out with her, but he begged me not to tell her since they were best friends. And I knew it'd hurt Gabriella too, so I've just always kept to myself what really happened."

Derek felt himself chuckle, "Why don't you just tell her now?" he asked her; because really, she might as well. It was such a long time ago and everyone did stupid things in high school, "I mean… you don't even see him anymore."

"See, that's the thing, we do!" Sharpay exclaimed, her voice high and annoying, "He sometimes does community theatre with us, and Gabriella really cares about him. I don't even understand how they can be so close friends after they broke up. They had sex and everything! I mean… I remember when I broke up with a guy, I was always like, 'We broke up, you need to not exist'!"

Derek and Casey laughed again, and Casey then said, "Well yeah, I remember that feeling. But I stayed friends with Sam, didn't I? That was pretty damn hard, but I guess things worked out okay."

Derek smiled at her and kissed her cheek quickly, "I think they worked out just perfectly." He whispered.

Sharpay aw'ed before she reached for Casey's drink, since she had already emptied her own. She emptied that too, and took a look at her watch, "Oh shit, we have to be at the airport in six hours." She gave them a worried look, "I haven't even packed yet, we better get out of here." She got off of her chair and reached for her guitar, but Casey stopped her.

"Uhm, Sharpay? Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked the blonde, and Derek bit back a chuckle. He wondered how long it would take for her to realize that Gabriella wasn't there.

The blonde had questions floating in her brown pools, "What?" she whined, "I have my guitar right here."

"Aw Pay, are you forgetting me again?"

They all turned their heads to the side to find Gabriella standing there, a mischievous grin across her face. Derek chuckled immediately, and Sharpay bit her lip, "Shit, I didn't mean to Bri." She said, as she reached for Gabriella and put an arm around her shoulder, "I was just… having some good fun, y'know?"

"Oh, I do know." Gabriella mocked her, and placed several kissed across her cheek, "I know so, so well… But you're right anyway, sweetie, we better head back to the hotel."

Sharpay winked at Derek and Casey as Gabriella started to lead them out of the crowded bar. Casey then turned to Derek and motioned for the door too. He got what she meant and stood up, so they could get just a bit of sleep, before they had to say goodbye to the two women.

Casey had a firm grab on his hand, as they made their way through the mass of people in there. Derek couldn't help but realize what this meant. He really had something good going on here.

--

I know that all the talk about true love and The One is bullshit… At least I used to think so. I didn't believe that love like Gabriella and Sharpay's really existed. But now… I gotta say. I think I've found The One. Casey is the perfect woman for me, and I think meeting her was fate. I hope that we seem as happy to other people, as Gabriella and Sharpay seem to me. At least that's how I want us to look. I want everyone to know that I'm happy, that I'm in love and that well… I'm whipped.

--

As they were gathered in the airport to say goodbye to Gabriella and Sharpay, Casey couldn't believe how quickly the summer had gone by. So much had happened and she really wanted Gabriella and Sharpay to stay with them, but she also knew that they had their own life they needed to get back to. She was excited for Christmas though, because it was pretty much decided that they would spend it together in Albuquerque.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, Sharpay!" Dylan said as he hugged the blonde woman tight.

Sharpay kissed his head repeatedly, "I will miss you too, Dyl. Remember you can call me anytime!" she said, and it almost tore Casey's heart out to see how sad her son was to see them leave.

Dylan then moved from Sharpay to Gabriella and Casey gave Sharpay a warm hug, "I'll miss you too, Blondie."

Sharpay laughed, "Miss you too, ditzy." She replied, and Casey had to brush away a tear. She hated that this got to her this way because she shouldn't be so sad. But then again… she was allowed to, wasn't she? It would be so different without them there, and she really cared for those two women. It was gonna be weird from now on.

"Bye Case…" Gabriella whispered, as she hugged her tightly. It was even worse saying goodbye to Gabriella, Casey decided. They had spent so many years being friends; they had traded phone calls and emails and IM's, but only recently had they seen face to face. Now it all had to go back to the way things were.

"I love you Gabby." Casey said as she pulled back.

"I love you too." Gabriella said and then she hugged Derek tightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Even Sharpay and Derek had traded hugs and that made Casey very happy; everything had worked out and that was how she wanted things to be.

Derek pulled her close and kissed her hair gently, "Don't cry, Space Case." He softly said. His voice was so gentle and she couldn't believe that he was hers now.

She brushed her tears away and swallowed loudly, "No, I'm not gonna cry." She said, voice determined. She would be happy from now on, because she had a great boyfriend and a great son. And she had two friends who, even if they lived far away, would always be there if she needed them, "This has been some summer, but really… I wanna make myself happy from now on."

Sharpay shot her a sneaky smile, "Then it's a good thing that we're going home, huh?" she joked.

Gabriella hit her lover on the arm, "Stop being stupid!" she hissed, but she giggled just the same.

Casey squeezed Derek's hand as the last call for Albuquerque, New Mexico was heard. This was it. They were leaving now. She hated how empty she would feel when she couldn't just meet them for coffee at some café. It would feel so wrong, so… so not right. She bit her lip and stared at the two woman for a few seconds, until Gabriella seemed to recover, and remember what they were there for,

"I guess that's us." she mumbled, and looked them all over once again, "It has been an amazing summer. I love you all."

Derek winked at her, "We love you too, Gabriella."

"Call us as soon as you guys land." Casey added, as Sharpay grabbed Gabriella's hand, to get her fiancée to come along.

The blonde nodded, "We will." She said, and then they turned to leave.

Dylan put an arm around Derek's waist and hugged him tightly as he waved with his other hand. Casey felt her tears start again, and she didn't bother to wipe them off. They were getting on that plane now. And of course it wasn't the end of the world, but it was very sad. She told herself it was good, though, because so many good things had happened by them staying here. She didn't think she would have ever gotten it together to be with Derek, hadn't it been for them.

They really were something, Sharpay and Gabriella.

As they were out of sight, Derek turned to them both, "Hey…" he said, his voice was low and it was easy to see that he was affected by their departure as well, "You guys wanna go to McDonald's?" he questioned.

Dylan's small face lit up as he jumped onto Derek's back, telling him that yes, in fact he did want to go to McDonald's. Casey just laughed with all her heart as she followed the two men in her life out of there. Sharpay and Gabriella might have just left because they had to go back home, they had to get married and start their family. But she would be okay because… because she had her family with her right there.

It felt weird to say, it really did. Her and Derek had found a way, they had pulled through and against all odds, they were now together. Derek and Dylan… they were… they were really her family.

And she couldn't ask for a better one.

Oh wow, I can't believe it. I'm like… done with this now. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It didn't take me too long when I first got started. I hope you liked the ending, because I wasn't quite sure how to put it, but I guess it was okay?

And yeah… I hope you enjoyed the story too. It was my first chaptered Life With Derek fic, so naturally I was nervous when I posted it. But I'm happy that people seem to have enjoyed it.

I want to thank you guys for helping me beat a hundred reviews. I think it's pretty good for a first real story in a new fandom, and I'm very thankful for your opinions. I hope to see a last review from all of you. You know how much I love them ;b

Disclaimer; I don't own Life With Derek or High School Musical.